Sustainable management of the natural resource base supporting agriculture is one of the three major strategic objectives of the CGIAR. The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems combines the resources of 11 CGIAR Centers and numerous international, regional and national partners to provide an integrated approach to natural resource management research. This program is led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

The program focuses on the three critical issues of water scarcity, land degradation and ecosystem services, as well as the CGIAR System Level Outcome (SLO) of sustainable natural resource management. It will also make substantial contributions to the System Level Outcomes on food security, poverty alleviation and, to a minor extent, health and nutrition.